I was in The Cotswolds and less than a mile from Beaumont Polo Club. With a guest pass in my hand and umbrella in hand, I was a little unsure what I would find there. I arrived 20 mins before the first game at 2pm but found that I was the only one there. So I decided to leave and come back later. It’s definitely not like going to a footie match!
By the time I got back, there were 8 horses racing up and down the field ridden by young and old, but no doubt all of them privileged public school educated.
Half time came and the small crowd of onlookers strode out in their wellington boots to “tread-in” (I heard someone call it that) the divots which had been kicked up by the hooves. I didn’t.
I went to the clubhouse to get a cup of tea and met a woman who was exactly how I imagined a polo fan to be like. She said that young local people should “move with the times” when I commented that they found it hard to buy houses in the area.
I told her that it was hard for them to move with the times when they didn’t have any money. What a dreadful woman.
I met a nice woman next. She was watching her son playing polo and she explained all the rules to me. I didn’t know that they used a handicap system or that it was possible to score half a goal. I didn’t know it was called a chukka and that it only lasted 7 minutes.
They play a variable number of chukkas (4-6) and change their horses multiple times during the match. They generally need 5 or 6 horses each.
It was quite interesting to watch them speed past, ground moving, mallets swinging and the ball being smashed between the goalposts from the outfield.
Looking around at the spectators, it seemed that, with only a few exceptions, people had a golden or black lab and a terrier of some sort. I did see, for the first time in my life, a basset hound. That was almost as interesting as the polo itself. At one stage, two of the spectators’ dogs were on the field and disrupted the game.
I can see the attraction and I don’t think I’ve ever been to watch a sport at which males and females compete equally and that’s a fantastic thing. But I don’t think I need to go to another polo match. It’s the end of the season anyway so I am not tempted.